adult
English
Etymology
From French adulte, from Latin adultus (“grown up”), perfect passive participle of adolescō (“I grow up”). Compare adolescent.
Pronunciation
- Lua error in Module:parameters at line 360: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "RP" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /ˈæd.ʌlt/, /ˈæd.əlt/
Audio (UK): (file)
- Lua error in Module:parameters at line 360: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "US" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /əˈdʌlt/, /ˈæd.əlt/
- Rhymes: -ʌlt
Noun
adult (plural adults)
- A fully grown human or animal.
- 1840, Georges Cuvier, Edward Blyth, Robert Mudie, George Johnston, and J.O. Westwood, “The fourth order of reptiles—The batrachians”, in Cuvier's Animal Kingdom[1], page 286:
- The young not only differs from the adult by the presence of its gills, but its feet are only developed by degrees, and in several genera there are also a deciduous beak and tail, and intestines of a different form
- A person who has reached the legal age of majority.
Synonyms
- (fully grown human or animal): grown up; see also Thesaurus:adult
Translations
fully grown human
|
Adjective
adult (comparative more adult, superlative most adult)
- Fully grown.
- an adult human, animal, or plant
- 1837, Michael Donovan, Domestic Economy: Human Food, Animal and Vegetable[2], page 86:
- The paws of the adult brown bear, and also their hams, especially when smoked, are considered a great delicacy.
- Intended for or restricted to adults rather than children.
- adult clothes
- 1973, Marshall Kaplan, Gans, and Kahn, Children and the urban environment (page 21)
- In May 1967 the WGBH Education Division submitted an initial proposal to HUD for a series of four adult television documentaries on conservation in an urban environment.
- Containing material of an explicit sexual nature; of, or pertaining to, pornography.
- an adult movie
- This program contains adult content. Parental discretion is advised.
- Vulgar or profane.
Synonyms
- (fully grown): big, fully grown, grown up; see also Thesaurus:full-grown
- (intended for adults): grown up; see also Thesaurus:adultlike or Thesaurus:for adults
- (containing explicit sexual material): pornographic, X-rated, XXX, XXXX; see also Thesaurus:pornographic
- (vulgar): blue, indecent, obscene, salacious; see also Thesaurus:obscene
Related terms
Translations
fully grown
|
intended for adults
|
euphemistic: pornographic
Verb
adult (third-person singular simple present adults, present participle adulting, simple past and past participle adulted)
- (intransitive, informal) To behave like an adult.
- (nonstandard, rare) To (cause to) be or become an adult.
- 1974, Occasional Papers (Syracuse University), issues 42-46, page 5:
- Womanhood was achieved at twenty-one, when the female was "adulted"; manhood was fully achieved at twenty-five, […]
- 2013, Ewa Rewers, The Contradictions of Urban Art, →ISBN, page 84:
- The process of adulting children […] overlaps with the process of the uncontrolled infiltration of the media […] into children’s imagination.
- For more quotations using this term, see Citations:adult.
- 1974, Occasional Papers (Syracuse University), issues 42-46, page 5:
Derived terms
terms derived from the adjective and noun
Further reading
- “adult”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “adult”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
Anagrams
Catalan
Etymology
Pronunciation
Adjective
adult (feminine adulta, masculine plural adults, feminine plural adultes)
- adult (fully grown)
Derived terms
Noun
adult m (plural adults, feminine adulta)
- adult (fully grown person)
Further reading
- “adult” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
German
Pronunciation
Audio: (file)
Adjective
adult (strong nominative masculine singular adulter, not comparable)
- (medicine) adult
Declension
Positive forms of adult (uncomparable)
number & gender | singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
masculine | feminine | neuter | |||
predicative | er ist adult | sie ist adult | es ist adult | sie sind adult | |
strong declension (without article) |
nominative | adulter | adulte | adultes | adulte |
genitive | adulten | adulter | adulten | adulter | |
dative | adultem | adulter | adultem | adulten | |
accusative | adulten | adulte | adultes | adulte | |
weak declension (with definite article) |
nominative | der adulte | die adulte | das adulte | die adulten |
genitive | des adulten | der adulten | des adulten | der adulten | |
dative | dem adulten | der adulten | dem adulten | den adulten | |
accusative | den adulten | die adulte | das adulte | die adulten | |
mixed declension (with indefinite article) |
nominative | ein adulter | eine adulte | ein adultes | (keine) adulten |
genitive | eines adulten | einer adulten | eines adulten | (keiner) adulten | |
dative | einem adulten | einer adulten | einem adulten | (keinen) adulten | |
accusative | einen adulten | eine adulte | ein adultes | (keine) adulten |
See also
Romanian
Etymology
Borrowed from French adulte, from Latin adultus (“grown up”).
Pronunciation
Adjective
adult m or n (feminine singular adultă, masculine plural adulți, feminine and neuter plural adulte)
Declension
Declension of adult
Noun
adult m (plural adulți, feminine equivalent adultă)
Declension
Categories:
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂el- (grow)
- English terms derived from French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/ʌlt
- Rhymes:English/ʌlt/2 syllables
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with quotations
- English adjectives
- English verbs
- English intransitive verbs
- English informal terms
- English nonstandard terms
- English terms with rare senses
- en:Age
- en:People
- Catalan terms derived from Latin
- Catalan terms with IPA pronunciation
- Catalan lemmas
- Catalan adjectives
- Catalan nouns
- Catalan countable nouns
- Catalan masculine nouns
- ca:Age
- German terms with audio links
- German lemmas
- German adjectives
- German uncomparable adjectives
- de:Medicine
- Romanian terms borrowed from French
- Romanian terms derived from French
- Romanian terms derived from Latin
- Romanian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Romanian lemmas
- Romanian adjectives
- Romanian entries with topic categories using raw markup
- Romanian nouns
- Romanian countable nouns
- Romanian masculine nouns
- ro:Age
- ro:People